


as summer turns to fall

by orbitalknight



Category: Persona 3
Genre: Canon Compliant, Fluff, Implied Relationships, M/M, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-11
Updated: 2018-08-11
Packaged: 2019-06-25 17:56:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15645951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orbitalknight/pseuds/orbitalknight
Summary: Happy birthday, Shinjiro!





	as summer turns to fall

Shinjiro Aragaki wasn’t big on birthdays.

Akihiko Sanada knew this but had conveniently elected to ignore it this year, as he had for the past several. Generally, the 11th of August rolled in on the calendar the same as any other day, and Akihiko would present Shinjiro with some poorly wrapped thing. The past year at the Gekkoukan dorm it had been kitchen utensils, but before that the gifts had been small things, whatever Akihiko happened upon that reminded him of his gloomy best friend. No matter what it was, Shinjiro tended to have the same response. 

“Aki,” It was more like a sigh than a name, the “ah” drawn out, “What the hell?”

And almost without fail Akihiko would say: “It’s your birthday, Shinji! I had to!”

Shinjiro would scowl, mumble something about Akihiko definitely didn’t have to. Sometimes he’d even throw in an “idiot” or “knucklehead.” But whatever the gift was, it would be well cared for, even if obviously used. And then in September, on Akihiko’s birthday, a gift would appear with a familiarly terse note. The year before a beautifully baked and frosted cake had shown up in the dorm refrigerator, complete with a little chocolate name plaque. It was so artfully done that only under very close scrutiny could one determine that it was handmade rather than store bought. Akihiko had savored every bit of that cake, had worked his way through it so slowly that Mitsuru eventually insisted they throw the rest out. Which had been its own kind of heartbreaking. This year Akihiko was determined to not only avenge the loss of the cake but to full repay Shinjiro for such a wonderful thing. He was going the extra mile, Shinji’s embarrassment be damned. 

This year the 11th was a Saturday, which technically meant Akihiko had to go to class before he could execute his plan. This was something else he’d decided to ignore for the occasion. His attendance was stellar anyway, so one missed class probably wouldn’t even warrant a slap on the wrist, and he wasn’t even skipping the whole day. After the first bell of the day rang he slipped out of the classroom, bounding up the stairs at the end of the hallway until they carried him up to the Gekkoukan rooftop. He paused at the top to breathe, taking in the view and the crisp late summer air. It was a good spot, made better by a familiar shape on one of the benches. He walked over, much more slowly than how he’d made his way up.

“Aren’t you warm like that, Shinji?”

Akihiko rubbed the exposed skin just below his sleeves before peering back down at the concrete bench in front of him and the young man fast asleep on top of it. 

Shinjiro Aragaki opened one eye slowly, like a man-eating cartoon dragon rudely awoken by some belligerent knight. Deciding in this case that perhaps the meat would be too stringy and it was too much effort to fry the intruder in a gout of flame, Shinjiro gave a grunt rather than an answer and readjusted ever so slightly on the bench. 

Akihiko took his cue and sat in the newly made space. He crossed his legs at the ankles, leaning back to look over the skyline again. “Nice day, huh?”

Again, no answer. The only sound was a gust of wind as the two sat in decidedly companionable silence. 

Akihiko was restless with excitement, unable to keep quiet for too long. “So, you wanna hit Hagakure for some ramen?”

This, at last, elicited a response. “Shouldn’t you be in class?”

“Yeah, but--” Akihiko stopped himself from reminding Shinjiro of the occasion, “It’s all review and I don’t even have practice, so there’s no reason to stick around.”

Shinjiro opened one eye again, skepticism evident in his tone as he spoke. “Really?”

“Yeah! Yeah, and...” Akihiko frantically searched for a less flimsy answer, “Remember when you said that ramen always tastes better when you’re cutting class? I was wondering if there’s any logical basis to that, and today is as good of a day as any to test it, right?”

Shinjiro actually laughed a little at this, a sound made all the more delightful for its rarity. “Alright, fine,” he said, sitting up in a symphony of joints cracking and popping. Shinjiro stretching only worsened the sound, the lanky boy shaking his head like a dog getting out of water. 

Akihiko bounced to his feet, maybe a little too eagerly. Even so, he had to follow Shinjiro’s lead out of the school. The other boy was adept at circumnavigating any hallways where their destination would be questioned, though Akihiko wondered how many people would actually stop them to ask. Shinjiro’s general air of “piss off” didn’t exactly invite confrontation, even while rumors circulated. The two of them managed to avoid any adults or particularly rule-abiding classmates on their way out, but that didn’t make them exempt from the glances of like-minded students or the casual observer. Akihiko generally did his best to dispel any rumors about his best friend, but he couldn’t catch everything. There were the occasional positive rumors, too, girls giggling around corners in covert speculation. Akihiko left those alone, though they left a twisty feeling in his gut like he’d eaten a bad beef bowl.

Generally, Akihiko would have preferred to jog all the way to the Iwatodai Strip Mall but Shinjiro wasn’t as into the sweatiness of all that. They took the train, nearly empty so early in the afternoon. At the very least they had compromised on standing for the short commute to their stop. There was such a familiar peace to having Shinjiro so close by, even in a situation so much more mundane than fighting Shadows. Akihiko thought of making conversation, but decided against it, worried he would accidentally let some detail slip. Still, he was restless, fidgeting with the buttons on his shirt. He stopped, noticing the bemused look Shinjiro was giving him. 

“Aki, are you really that worried about cutting class?” Shinjiro’s concern was evident even in the rasp of his voice, “We can go back.”

“What? No!” This was too important, and Akihiko had already rationalized that part of his plan. “This was my idea, Shinji.”

“Yeah, alright,” Shinjiro rubbed the back of his neck, sounding unconvinced. 

Finally they arrived at Iwatodai Station, which always seemed to be in some construction project purgatory, the green and white tiles ever grimy. Akihiko savored the sound of his shoes taping their way down to the street, but looked to find Shinjiro somewhat distracted. He was frowning, as if looking for something, then rummaged around in his pocket for a second. He motioned to Akihiko to wait, then headed off in the opposite direction of Hagakure. Akihiko chewed his lower lip in thought, but supposed they had the time for a detour. He followed Shinjiro down an alley, finding the dark haired boy squatting over something Akihiko couldn’t quite see. He moved to get a better look.

“A cat?” Though it obviously was. A black and white cat with a round face, coat too glossy to be a stray. 

Akihiko moved to crouch next to Shinjiro, who didn’t seem all that surprised his request had been ignored. “Yeah,” he stuck out a hand towards the cat, who immediately leaned into his palm, “She keeps me company sometimes.” 

Akihiko put out a hand for the cat, who gave his glove a quick sniff and butted her head against Shinjiro’s arm until he scratched underneath her chin. Shinjiro reached into his pocket like he had before, pulling out a handful of brown pellets. The cat took one at a time, squinting her eyes while she crunched them. 

“Not a big cat person,” He said, “But she’s a good one. I’ve met her kids.”

“Oh,” It was all Akihiko could think to say, “Kids.”

The two said their goodbyes to the cat and walked back through the station plaza towards the strip mall. The scent of cooking takoyaki hung in the air, and none of the strip mall regulars paid any attention to the two high-school students. A delightful smell wafted from the beef bowl shop, and Akihiko had to take a minute to stay focused. Hagakure smelled amazing, too, and he’d been waiting for this. Akihiko snuck a glance at Shinjiro as they took the stairs to the second level of the strip mall. His friend was oblivious, pulling at the collar of his shirt, which was seriously wrinkled already. A little self consciously, Akihiko checked his own shirt collar. Immaculate enough that even Mitsuru couldn’t complain. 

Shinjiro pushed through the curtain into the little ramen shop, and immediately stopped, almost blocking Akihiko from going in after him. He had to squeeze past his friend to stand to see inside. 

And there it was, right on schedule. “Aki, what the hell?”

Hagakure was empty of customers, and in the center of the little space, a single two-top table with chairs had been set up. Placed in front of each of the two chairs was a steaming bowl of ramen, instantly recognizable as the special, only to be found in Iwatodai. Shinjiro’s favorite. A poorly wrapped package sat next to one of the bowls. Akihiko waved to the chef behind the bar counter on the right-hand side of the restaurant before sitting down in front of the bowl with no adjacent package.

“Glad you two could make it,” the chef said, in a voice as grizzled as he looked, “We were gettin’ worried you weren’t gonna show up and waste that perfectly good ramen.”

“My friend here would never let that happen,” Akihiko gestured to Shinjiro, who was still in too much shock to be stormy. The Hagakure chef grunted and shrugged, knowing this was true.

Finally, Shinjiro made it all the way through the door and sat across from Akihiko. He started to ask a question but seemed to give up halfway through, settling instead for incredulously shaking his head.

“Mitsuru helped me set it up,” Akihiko explained, “I was going to cook you something, but I thought this would be better.”

“Idiot,” Shinjiro muttered, deciding to eat his ramen while it was still hot instead of elaborating. 

The two sat in relative silence, slurping at the bowls of noodles. Hagakure’s broth was especially rich, and there was warmth both there and at the table. The sounds of the kitchen only added to the charm of the moment, running water and the clang of pots and pans. Akihiko wasn’t sure how long they had, since Mitsuru hadn’t been very clear about it. She hadn’t approved of the class-cutting but eventually admitted that Akihiko’s grades weren’t going to be damaged by one day off and maybe it was alright to take a break every once in a while. Shinjiro didn’t speak even once he’d finished his ramen, but turned his attention to the package that had been at his seat. He looked at Akihiko quizzically, and Akihiko gestured to go ahead and open it.

Despite the amateurish wrapping, Shinjiro was incredibly gentle in pulling the tape off at the seams. Eventually, he revealed the contents. It was a black knit cap with a metal plate on the front. 

“You used to have one like that, yeah?” Akihiko said, “I know you get cold pretty easily, so I thought you could use a new one.”

Shinjiro held the hat in his hands for a second, turning it around in consideration before sliding it over his head. The effect of the hat was that it left the dark-haired boy’s eyes in an even deeper shadow than usual, and Shinjiro seemed not to mind. 

“Looks good,” Akihiko said, smiling as he did.

At last customers had started to return to the restaurant, and the two of them had wandered on foot in the direction of Gekkoukan, even with no intention of going back to class. A bench that overlooked the ocean became their destination, just as the sun began to set. 

“Hey, Aki,” Shinjiro spoke without looking away at the ocean, “Thanks.”

“Yeah,” Akihiko said, “Happy birthday, Shinji.”

**Author's Note:**

> this was so much fun to write i adore these boys!! 
> 
> mostly a gift for my dear friend leon @ someplacesweet on twitter, may your shinji day be blessed with many good akishin fic


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